


Manger Optional

by Whisper132



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-08
Updated: 2007-01-08
Packaged: 2017-10-23 15:32:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whisper132/pseuds/Whisper132





	Manger Optional

  
Chitose always thought it was weird, two Buddhist families getting together to celebrate Christmas, but every year the Chitoses and the Tachibanas would gather, swap presents, and play games in the family room. It was a tradition started by the mothers, who had been best friends in university, but the entirety of the group enjoyed the yearly get together, particularly Kippei and Senri, who saw eachother only after allowances were saved or parents were bribed.

"That was excellent," Kippei said, patting his full stomach. Kippei ate three helpings of dinner and two desserts. "I'm stuffed." He looked at the few bits of chicken, rice, and sweet potato cooling in the gravy lake on his plate and hummed contentedly.

"We could've fed a small island nation with what you ate, aniki." Unlike her brother, An only ate one helping and half a dessert. She was a girl, though, and concerned about looking good in her tennis skirt. She had delusions about dating Kamio-kun next year. Chitose kept telling Kippei to clue her in, but he refused, saying it was just something she had to find out for herself. Senri thanked the gods that Miyuki was smart and only interested in guys who were willing to follow her around for a week, begging.

"Sen and I are going for a game tomorrow morning. Have to bulk up if I want to play hard." Under the table, Kippei's foot sought out Senri's and rubbed at the achilles. "He'll laugh at me if I wuss out halfway through."

Miyuki coughed and Chitose felt Kippei's leg jerk. "Don't forget you need to help me with my project tomorrow, Sen-nii. Don't get distracted." Some time during the previous year, Miyuki discovered Kippei and Senri's relationship. She didn't freak out, but she was under the impression that Kippei, while a great adopted brother, was not good enough for her Sen-nii. Miyuki was certain a thousand STDs were swimming in Kippei's bloodstream, waiting to infect poor, innocent Sen-nii and render him undateable. She also believed that her gentle Sen-nii was the uke in the great drama unfolding before her.

Under the cover of the kotatsu, Senri moved his hand along Kippei's thigh. "I won't forget." Senri turned to An. "Did you have any work you needed help with, An-chan?"

"Momma made us get all our work done before we came. I could use help with my tennis, though." An leaned on the table and stared up with wide eyes. "Aniki never wants to help me and he always goes easy on me when we play."

"I'll help you," Miyuki broke in, grabbing hold of An's arm. "You don't want to play with Sen-nii. He cheats." Miyuki whispered something in An's ear and the other perked up and nodded vigorously.

Under the table, Senri felt a familiar toenail digging into his foot. Crap, he'd have to take Miyuki and her boy of the week to the movies again. Hanging out with kids sucked, particularly when your younger sister kept pointing to you in the middle of the date and explaining to her date the various ways he might improve himself to be more like her beloved Sen-nii.

"You kids go along, then. Have fun." Senri's grandmother shooed them away from the table as she began collecting dishes.

"You go ahead," Senri told Kippei. "I'm gonna help clean up a bit first." With six adults to clear the table, Senri's assistance wasn’t needed, but it would be better to let Kippei settle himself in the room first, work off some of his agitation. Kippei was cutest after he soaked in his own frustration for ten or fifteen minutes. He turned into a wanton, begging thing that cried for attention and growled for dominance he could never attain – not with Chitose, at least. It was all irresistibly cute.

  
&-&

  
Tachibana paced Chitose's room, kicking at a stuffed pig. Senri was late on purpose, trying to make some kind of entrance. Bastard, just because his family was hosting, he thought that Kippei would just settle and do what he ordered. Forget that. Kippei could be unaccommodating, too.

"Hey, sorry for the wait. I had to help Gran with something."

Kippei didn't understand Chitose's choice in clothing. Linen wrinkled easily and the weird embroidered patterns on Senri's shirts made them look like women's clothing. An once said she wanted to dress just like her Chitose-kun when she grew up. That was a sign, right? Senri just laughed when Tachibana told him about the conversation and made a crack about An learning the finer points of womanhood from her dear aniki. Tachibana still owed Chitose for that one.

"You're mad about something." Chitose draped his arms across Kippei's shoulders, pulling him back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Tachibana settled back, craning his neck so he could inhale Chitose's cologne. "You smell like pumpkin pie." Kippei's tongue darted out, sampling at Senri's neck. "Tastes normal, though."

Chitose's laugh rumbled from his chest to Tachibana's back. "Disappointed? Want me to go get a piece from downstairs?"

The one time they tried the 'eat off one another' experiment, Chitose accidentally bit into Kippei's groin, leaving a scar that took four months to heal. They were definitely not trying it ever again. "Stay here. We didn't get to hang out all day."

Tachibana wasn't a wuss or, by any means, a girl. Still, the feel of long, strong arms wrapped around him was comforting, as was the whooshing sound of Senri's breath against his shoulder as the other boy leaned down to glide dry kisses across Kippei's skin. It took him a while to reconcile himself to liking the sensation – a year of violent tennis and fist fights to reassert himself – but now he was able to sink into the hypnotic embrace and relax, simply enjoying time alone with the boy he'd known since he could walk.

"You look comfortable." Senri momentarily tightened the embrace.

"Mmm." Kippei reached up, pulling Chitose down for a slow kiss, lips touching in small nips, tongues sliding out to flick at one another before retreating. He turned, pressing himself chest to chest with Senri, looping his arms around the other boy's neck. "How much longer 'til your grandparents fall asleep?"

"Two hours. They're down watching TV now, but they'll be up in half an hour. They'll read for about an hour, then go to bed. They're not the problem, though." Chitose's fingers slipped under the hem of Tachibana's shirt, rubbing circles across a taught belly. "We need to worry about the girls."

A giggle from the next room over reminded Kippei that his sister and Miyuki were there, on the other side of a very thin wall, no doubt chattering about boys and their brothers and makeup.

"We'd be fine if you could be a little more quiet, Kippei." Senri gave Tachibana's rear a pat. "It wouldn't be as much fun, though." Chitose hummed into Tachibana's neck before whispering, "Maybe I could gag you," into Kippei's ear.

"Try it and I'll tell your mom about the time you stole that skirt and lipstick." Kippei had an arsenal of blackmail, some of it information from Miyuki, some of it from their escapades as children. If Chitose thought he'd ever get away with underestimating Kippei, he'd better think again.

"You're no fun. Just because we kind of messed up that rope thing that one time…"

"We? No we. You." Chitose's internet 'research' phase was the most uncomfortable period in their relationship, if only because Chitose kept insisting Kippei wear weird outfits or try odd games when all Kippei wanted to do was huddle under a blanket and nap for a few while listening to the steady doki doki of Senri's heart.

A chorus of giggles sounded through the wall and Senri's arms slipped away. "Sounds like they're hitting those idol magazines Miyuki gets." Chitose flopped onto his bed and patted the space beside him. "Only thing to do is wait them out. They'll shut up eventually."

Shoulders drooping, Kippei crawled onto the bed, draping himself over Senri. "Wake me up when they're done."

  
&-&

Senri stared at the ceiling while Kippei snored and drooled on his bare stomach. The girls next door were done with Miyuki's back issues of Potato and had moved on to various internet gossip sites. Apparently An was going to marry Kamenashi Kazuya, despite Miyuki's warnings that you shouldn't marry a guy who was prettier than you were.

Kippei jerked awake when the girls came across a semi-nude photo and chirped in delight. "The hell?" he grumbled, pushing up off Senri and glaring at the wall. "I was having a good dream."

Chitose shifted his leg from side to side. "I noticed."

Tachibana groaned and shifted himself against Senri's leg. "Fuck it," he mumbled through low hisses. "We haven't seen eachother since October. I don't care if they hear."

Getting his phone off the nightstand and checking the time, Chitose smiled. "Grandparents should be in bed by now. I guess it wouldn't be too bad. If you keep the noise down." Senri pulled Kippei up for a slow kiss. "Mmm. Missed you."

It was true. Beyond the blinding joy of their physical relationship, Chitose missed the presence of his best friend. His teammates were wonderful, but they failed to understand the more basic levels of Chitose's mind, the parts that really wanted to deck someone for being an idiot or whoop in joy after winning a tough match. Kippei understood that primitive drive, and more besides.

"Wait." Kippei pulled away and scrambled off the bed. "It's past midnight. Time for your Christmas present."

Draping himself off the side of the bed, Chitose reached for a small shoebox that contained all the supplies necessary for their intended activities. It also contained another box, wrapped in gold paper with holly leaves on it. "I got you something, too. It's lame, though, so no laughing."

Kippei returned to the bed with a small envelope, decorated in holiday stickers. "Here," he said, holding it out. "It's kind of for both of us, but mostly for you." The envelope shook in his hands and he looked down, finding something very fascinating about Chitose's clothed kneecaps before taking the box Senri offered.

They opened the gifts at the count of three, Kippei tearing into the wrapping and Chitose carefully opening the seal on the envelope.

He had had dreams like this, exchanging gifts with Kippei and receiving the best news in the world. Chitose never expected those dreams to come true. "You're transferring next year? Really?"

Kippei nodded, the unwrapped but unopened box still in his hands. "I, uh, thought that since they have dorms at the high school, I could stay there and we could play together or something. My acceptance won't be finalized until end of semester results, but they're willing to take me for a tennis scholarship." Kippei scratched at his buzzed head. "They also want to see how I do this tennis season, but the team I'm heading, they're strong, so we'll make it to nationals."

"And you were just getting settled, too." Chitose reached forward, pulling Kippei in and placing a kiss to his neck before whispering, "thank you."

"It's not just for you. It's for me, too. I want to be closer to you." Kippei snorted and buried his face in Senri's hair. "I sound like a fucking girl."

"You sound fine," Senri whispered, wrapping his arms around the other boy. "Open my present, hm? It's not as good as yours, but I thought you'd like it."

Tachibana opened the box and removed the small layer of puffed cotton from atop the box's contents. A gold chain and lion's head pendant glittered from inside. "Cool." Kippei dug the jewelry from the box and held it up. "You've got nails. I can't open these things."

Chitose took the necklace and fastened it around Kippei's neck. It fit close to his throat with an inch of free space to dangle, displaying the small charm. "So it's okay? Miyuki thought you'd like it, so I figured…" Chitose trailed off at the finger to his lips.

"Now you're the one acting like a girl," Tachibana laughed.

Next door, the girls continued to giggle, though Chitose heard a few loud yawns between spurts. All he and Kippei would need to do was keep quiet. Chitose reached for the box and held it out to Tachibana. "I chose last time, so now it's your turn."

Kippei grinned down at the assortment of lube and condoms. "It really is Christmas, I guess."

  
&-&

  
Kippei's consciousness floated on a sea of nag champa and vanilla. The nag champa was from the incense, the vanilla was Chitose: his cologne, his shampoo, his bath water.

"Quiet Kippei, they're still awake." Chitose's voice slid over Tachibana's skin, tickling his neck while callused fingers twisted and tugged, eliciting more of the keening Kippei'd been warned against.

Tachibana bit down on his lower lip to stifle a groan. Chitose's fingers danced across his length, a well trod path the other boy knew would reduce Kippei to a mewling, grunting mass of hormones begging for release. If Kippei weren't so concerned about not making noise, he might've had a moment to care that Senri was still clothed in his pajama bottoms, quite content to let Kippei writhe on his lap.

Leaning forward and gnawing on Chitose's exposed collarbone was natural, and the only way Tachibana could keep from screaming in relief as a finger slid down his spine then, after retreating to the open pot of lubricant on the nightstand, dipped in to explore. Two months was a long time to go between touches, a lifetime, it seemed, between kisses.

"I saved up enough to come visit next month." Senri's words were a heated moisture at the back of Kippei's ear. He could barely understand them and couldn't respond to them beyond an ugh and mmm. "Miyuki wants to come, too, and my parents said I have to take her. They'll pay for our train tickets, though, and we can use my money for a hotel."

Kippei couldn't imagine how Chitose managed to speak so plainly about an upcoming visit when a second finger slid into Kippei's entrance, stretching it and twisting about inside, turning Kippei's pelvis into fire.

Tachibana leaned forward as the questing fingers danced inside him. He trailed his tongue along Chitose's neck, then cheek, finally sealing his lips against Chitose's and tasting gravy from dinner. He pulled back long enough to listen for the girls next door. Hearing was difficult over the sound of his heartbeat in his ears and his heaving breaths as he tried to focus, but he heard nothing. No giggling, no sound bytes from the computer. "I think they're asleep," he managed around a groan.

Chitose nodded.

The next thing Kippei knew, he was on his back, staring at the ceiling, and the scent of vanilla had engulfed him.

  
&-&

  
The first time Chitose ever touched Kippei in this manner, he was scared shitless. He was sure he was going to tear something, either Kippei's body or his heart, and they'd never speak again. Even after the second time, and the five times that followed, Chitose was still mostly afraid. Kippei enjoyed the opening touches - a lick here, a finger there - but the first few moments that Chitose was fully in him, Kippei's eyes went wide and his breathing came in shallow hisses.

Leaning over Kippei as if to protect him from the world, Chitose could only ask, "Are you okay?"

Tachibana's response was always the same. "Just getting used to it. Give me a sec." Deep pants and a short hiss, then a grin offset by burning eyes that held Chitose in place and made him forget to breathe. "If you screwed me on a regular basis, I'd be much happier."

Chitose's hips gave an involuntary push forward, burying him completely. "We'll see about that next year."

The press of Tachibana's body was so deliciously welcoming. It goaded Chitose, mocked his reserved nature and taunted him toward insanity. He wanted to move blindly, heedless to Kippei's desires, following only the wonderful sensations of the flexing heat around him. "You okay now?" he asked when holding back was becoming impossible. "I'll go slow."

"Harder this time," Tachibana said, already sliding his body back and forth, tilting his pelvis in circles. "We've never done it hard before."

They hadn't tried a lot of things, chiefly because Chitose was much less confident with his pants off. Previous experiments – bondage, food – were accomplished while Senri was still clothed and in control. It was easy to make Kippei happy if he ignored his own needs, which was why their foreplay so often failed to move to completion.

He pulled back before slamming his hips forward. He exhaled in a rush as Kippei moaned into the pillow and tightened around him. "Like that?" he asked, already pulling back again.

"God, yes."

Back again, then forward, digging his knees into the bed, wincing a little when the mattress creaked. "We're gonna wake someone up." Chitose moved back but Kippei reached, grasping on to the back of Chitose's knees.

"Don't care," Kippei rasped. "Keep going." Tachibana fell forward again, head resting on his forearms, teeth clamped around his own wrist.

They were too old to claim the noise was from jumping on the bed, though Chitose had a habit of tossing in the night. He might be able to blame the occasional thud on that. He was not going to be able to pass off Kippei's final scream of release. No one would believe Tachibana was calling to Chitose in his sleep or winning a pillow fight.

Chitose prayed the elders were drunk enough on Christmas sake not to notice anything.

  
&-&

  
When Kippei woke, he could remember very little about the previous night, save the feel of Chitose's hips smacking against him time and again and a brief moment where the room swirled like incense smoke. Then he passed out, sticky and happy and holding onto Chitose for dear life.

"Morning," he said, trying to figure out which limbs were Senri's and which were his own. He sniffed. Nag champa still hung in the air, covering over the stale scent of sex. Cracking a window wouldn't hurt, though. He made to move, then abandoned the idea in favor of staying where he was.

"I'll get you a heating pad," Chitose said, sliding off the end of the bed. "Grandma has one for when her knee acts up."

Kippei reached out and grabbed Chitose's wrist as he passed. "Stay here." He pulled and Chitose complied, sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning in for a kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Kippei. We have to go down for presents soon." Chitose's eyes trailed over Tachibana's nude form. "I'll run you a bath after we're done."

A bath sounded lovely. "Join me?" No one would question them sharing a bath. They were friends and it would conserve heating costs. He leaned forward to whisper in Chitose's ear. "Then let's do it again." He was sore, but it couldn't possibly get much worse.

Chitose hummed agreement, his hand sliding over Tachibana's half-hard length. "Better take care of this before we go."

As Chitose's hand moved, Kippei undulated on the bed, hips driving up, seeking shelter in the callused grip.

A knock on the door halted everything. "Aniki! Breakfast time!" An's voice drifted through the door and Chitose's hand flew from Tachibana as if it were burned.

"Fuck." Tachibana tried to bury himself in the blankets.

"Come on, let's get dressed before Miyuki knocks the door down." Chitose's shoulders were slumped and he moved like a zombie to his closet, pulling out a pair of linen pants and one of those ass ugly shirts of his. Tachibana wished he'd wear something normal, a t-shirt maybe, but it was always the bell sleeves and Navajo collars.

Wincing a bit, Kippei rolled out of bed and grabbed his pants from the previous day. He only brought two pair and what did it matter if he was just going to be taking a bath in a bit anyway?

Pants in place, Tachibana fingered the pendant resting coolly against his bare chest. "Merry Christmas," he said, smiling at Chitose.

Long arms wrapped around Tachibana and warm, dry lips pressed against his forehead. "Merry Christmas."

"Sen-nii! Are you okay!? Need help!?" Miyuki pounded at the door.

"Coming!" Senri called, releasing the embrace moments before his door glided open to reveal Miyuki, a fire poker in hand.

Miyuki ran in and stood in front of Chitose, pointing the poker at Tachibana. "Breakfast," she said, gesturing to the door with her head.

Tachibana rolled his eyes and walked out. "I'm taking back the present I got you," he said as he walked down the hall. "No signed photos for you."

She dropped the fire poker and ran to Kippei, wrapping him in a hug. "Oh Kippei-nii is the best in the world!" she said.

Senri plucked Miyuki away and slid his arm over Tachibana's shoulders. "Get your own," he said, his other hand reaching out to ruffle Miyuki's hair.

In the hall, they broke into laughter, attracting the attention of An and Tachibana's mother. Slowly, the laughter fizzled away and the two families gathered for breakfast and present exchange. Through it all Tachibana sat valiantly, not shifting or wincing, even though he was less than comfortable. Under the kotatsu, Chitose's hand glided up and down Kippei's thigh, sometimes sliding up higher.

Two days. They had two days to fill up on one another before Tachibana was back in Tokyo and working with his group of bedraggled second years. They'd show everyone, though. Fudomine was worthy of a nationals title, worthy to stand up against the great schools. And next year, after showing the nation what teamwork could do, Tachibana would take his place at Shitenhouji and stand next to the shining light of Chitose Senri. And if anyone tried to get in his way, he'd kick their ass.


End file.
